Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and please keep sending them. Okay, this is when you really start to learn something about the ghost responsible.
And by the way, Miriam1, everyone at that nightclub in the opening scene is dead, so you won't be hearing from them again.
X X X X X X X X X X X
Danny continued patrolling in Amity Park. It had been unusually quiet that night. Not even the box ghost had shown up tonight. A few months ago, Danny would have been happy, but now he was experienced enough to realize that something was terribly wrong.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several things speeding towards him fast. His hands charged with energy, he prepared to face whatever ghost was coming. However, as time went on, there were more and more headed his direction.
Just as Danny thought he was going to be overwhelmed, they sped right past him. It took him a moment to realize they weren't ghosts, but the guys in white. The fact they sped by him and didn't even notice he was there was unusual indeed.
"This looks like it's going to be unpleasant for us, Daniel." Vlad informed, flying next to him. "They were ordered to hunt down and destroy the ghost and while they are not what I call competent, they are persistent. What exactly can terrify them to such a degree?"
"It's not like I know!" Danny snapped. "I don't like feeling helpless!"
"Sorry, Daniel; I was musing to myself." Vlad rubbed his forehead. "At any rate, I have some information for you. Davis Sewiza is one of the top ghost researchers in the country, but a few years ago, he disappeared off the radar. No one knew where he was or what he was doing. There were all kinds of theories, from the sensible to the purely idiotic. After he came back, he looked like he does now."
"Could this be his doing?"
"You mean, could he be another ghost hybrid? Interesting theory, although I would be inclined to doubt it. I'm going to hold an impromptu meeting; I suggest you listen to it. It might answer some of our questions."
"Still can't believe I'm agreeing to this."
"Haven't you noticed that there is not a single ghost in Amity apart from us? They know this place is dangerous and are not willing to risk their existence."
"Yes, fruit loop, I've noticed."
"Follow me, Daniel. No tricks, not this time."
"If you're lying to me…"
"I've heard the speech before, Daniel. Now come on." Danny reluctantly followed, still wary for any tricks. He rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake. It was nearly morning and he hadn't managed to get any sleep at all. They went inside city hall, where Vlad transformed back and Danny turned invisible.
"So what can you tell me?" Vlad asked the entering agents. "Have you destroyed the ghost?"
"Mr. Mayor, to put it simply, we didn't have a chance to fight back." The operative told him. "He took out a third of our agents in a matter of seconds. We… our weapons were ineffective, especially since only a few of us got off any shots. He was so powerful that our instruments started malfunctioning."
"How is that possible?" Vlad demanded.
"I don't know, Mr. Mayor. He moved so fast that we couldn't track him and we were in too much of a shock to do much fighting. Eventually, we decided to simply free for our lives. For some reason, he didn't follow us."
"Can you tell me anything useful, like what he looked like?"
"I'm really not sure I should say it."
"I'll be the judge of that. Now talk!"
"He looked like one of those Muslim terrorists we're at war with. I can't give anything real specific, but from what I saw of him, that was his appearance." After hearing that, Vlad dismissed him and called in other survivors. Everyone he asked afterwards gave different stories but a similar description.
"Well, Daniel, this definitely does not sound good." Vlad informed. "Go home, badger; and please keep a low profile for a while. This city is in a state of fear, and they will likely go after you, although this new threat is a higher priority."
"Why are you telling me this, Vlad?" Danny asked suspiciously. "And since when do you care what happens to me?"
"I want you to join me, Daniel, not be destroyed by those incompetent fools." Vlad explained. "Now go; I've got to call an important meeting." However, Danny had no intention to do so. Vlad made phone calls and called his staff, while our superhero rolled his eyes.
Within an hour, a tired, sleepy, and irritable committee had been formed. Vlad may have been corrupt, but he was never one to put with bureaucratic procedures. They spent over 2 hours debating on how to stop the ghost, and by the end, Danny was nearly ready to fall asleep. Vlad likely knew he was still there, but didn't do anything to raise the alarm.
"I propose that, for the moment, we keep the public in the dark." Vlad declared. "If they knew this ghost fits the description of a Muslim, although we can't be sure that he is one, it could cause instability due to the fact that world affairs are fragile enough as it is. Normally, I would not take such a step, but since we have no definite proof, we had better err on the side of caution. We don't know enough about what we're dealing with to make any kind of intelligent judgments."
"The public has a right to know!" one of them protested. "We can't keep this kind of thing quiet. I believe you exaggerate the dangers involved."
"Not a chance; this country has already suffered 3 devastating terrorist attacks." Another argued. "I highly doubt the public's relative benevolence will extend a second time. At any rate, we can't be sure that that's what he is." Danny raised his eyebrows; now this debate was starting to get interesting.
"Look, we've got to do something!" A third exclaimed. "The public is getting frightened and they should be. It's about time they see through the 'Islam is a religion of peace' crap."
"And that attitude is precisely the problem!" The first shouted at him. "We can't judge a whole group based on the actions of a few. It's this kind of Islamophobia that made them the scapegoats for our problems, courtesy of our last president!"
"Do you actually know anything about the religion? It states that there can only be peace when the entire planet is Islamic."
"Neither do you, apparently!" Yet another spoke up. "It explicitly forbids harming anyone that is not actively fighting against them. Unfortunately, the terrorists define that as anyone who disagrees with them in the slightest way."
"Shut up, all of you!" Vlad screamed, but they took no notice of them. By this time, Danny was listening intently. This was far from a civilized discussion, but it was certainly interesting.
"We aren't going to be able to keep this quiet! We'd better tell the public, because if we don't and they find out anyway, which I assure you they will, we're going to look like a bunch of corrupt people!"
"Look, they aren't going to be able to handle the truth. The U.S. has already been through a great deal. If people find out that Muslims are striking us once again, what do you think is going to happen? Should I mention order 9066 as an example? Try using your brain for once in your life!"
"Follow your own advice, you piece of shit! The people are smarter and more tolerant than you worthless liberals give them credit. You always look down on ordinary people, thinking you know better than we do!"
"Well, we're better than you stupid republicans. You led us into a war under false pretenses and screwed up the one we should have been focusing on, thanks one hell of a lot."
"If this keeps us, I'm going to go deaf." Vlad complained. "And I thought having a bipartisan committee was a good idea…" That was something of an exaggeration. They weren't completely split along party lines, but that was the general division.
The debate got more heated from there.
X X X X X X X X X X
Meanwhile, Jack and Maddie were at Danny's house, wondering where he was. It was far from unusual for him to miss curfew, but he was never this late. It was past midnight and counting.
"Still not here?" Davis smiled sadly. "Well, I doubt he'd be gone so long for a trivial reason. He's a decent kid, perhaps more so than you know."
"I know, but I wish he wouldn't do this." Maddie groaned. "I hate myself for even thinking this, but he might be involved with something dangerous. Oh, I wish he'd just confide in us! We're his parents!"
"Now, Maddie, he's probably just lost track of time." Jack reassured. "I did that frequently when I was a kid. Sigh, we'll talk to him again when he gets home."
"Maddie, there's something I have to talk to you about." Davis informed. Maddie turned to him. "I'd prefer we talk privately, so if you would please follow me."
"Is this your way of asking Maddie for a date?" Jack laughed. "You always were a lady-killer! Hate to say it, but she's taken by me."
"I know, Jack, and this isn't a date." Davis replied. "Please, Maddie, this is important!"
"Okay, Davis, if you say so." Maddie told him. "Jack, let me know the instant Danny comes home. You didn't change my cell number again, did you?"
"No, of course not. I'm a mad scientist, not an idiot!"
"Well, Jack, you're not the only crazy one." Davis said quietly, but neither had any trouble hearing him. "Come on, Maddie." She followed, wondering what all of this was about. Jack scratched his head and shrugged.
Around 10 minutes later, Danny came home. Jack glared, but Danny held up his hand. "Sorry, I'm late, Dad." He apologized. "I was…with Vlad. He was having a meeting and wanted me to watch. It was kind of boring…for a while. He's worried about this whole thing."
"I wish you would have told us, son." Jack exclaimed. "Your mom and I were worried about you. Oh, yeah, she went somewhere with Davis. Apparently he needed to talk. Don't really understand why I couldn't come along, but oh, well! Say, Danny, I've got a new invention I want to show you."
"Not now, Dad. I'm tired and I should probably just try to get some sleep." He collapsed on the couch, but found himself staying awake. Jack sat beside him, trying to give reassurance.
"I know; I'm worried about this whole situation too. I think logically, I knew they would strike again, but I didn't really want to think about it. I'm worried. Who's going to be next?" Danny let his dad ramble. After an unknown amount of time, Davis walked inside and went to bed without saying a word.
Shortly afterward, Maddie walked inside deeply shaken. "Are you all right, Mom?" Danny asked. "What happened to you? What's wrong? If Davis did anything at all, I swear to God I'm going to…"
"Sweetie, he didn't do anything to me." Maddie cut him off gently. "It's just…I don't want to talk about it, ok? I'm going to sleep. Good night, Jack."
"Night, Maddie!" Jack exclaimed. "Woah, what's wrong? Were you guys attacked? Was it a ghost? Oh, when I get my hands of that worthless piece of ectoplasm…"
"Jack, it wasn't anything like this. It's just…I can't tell you." Taking a deep breath, she walked up the stairs with little of her usual balance.
X X X X X X X X X X
Although they had eventually (and reluctantly, in some cases) voted to keep the details a secret, the truth leaked to the public as it often did. Although there were a few incidents of violence involving anger toward Muslims, or anyone who appeared as if they were from the Arab countries, along with numerous threats, life pretty much went on as it always did. Vlad, along with other public officials, condemned such attacks, but for the most part, it was simply grandstanding for the public, as most disapproved of them anyway.
The next day, Vlad announced to the public that a special task force had been formed for the specific purposes of destroying the ghost. "I promise you, this reign of terror will end! The American ghost hunting team, the GIW, have devised a way of hunting down and destroying him!" The camera switched views to show over 200 agents and assorted vehicles. They got onto them and sped in the air, the people cheering them on. The largest of the vehicles created a portal that they followed into the ghost zone.
For the next few hours, the whole country was anxiously awaiting news. After what seemed like forever, they returned unharmed and stated that they had found and engaged the target. "We caught it by surprise!" One of them explained. "We hit it with everything we had before it was even aware of our existence. No ghost could possibly survive such an onslaught."
After a day or so, most people assumed that the ghost responsible for the short but terrible path of destruction had been destroyed. Although they did not actually see the GIW strike force go into action against him, they informed the press that they had destroyed the ghost with new ecto-rockets that were still in the experimental stages.
Life quickly turned back to normal, or what passed for normal in Amity Park. Jack and Maddie had fun working on ghost weapons instead of watching the news anxiously, waiting for news of a new attack. Danny, Tucker, and Sam resumed their ghost fighting, and avoiding Dash Baxter once Casper High reopened.
That is, until during a patrol one night, Danny ran into Vlad once more. This time, he didn't greet Danny with a sardonic remark, but with an ecto-blast. "Don't you ever give up, cheese head?" Danny complained as he dodged another attack.
"The answer to that should be obvious, Daniel." Vlad smirked. Danny glared and sped towards him, changing direction at the last second. Before Vlad could respond, Danny fired several ecto-blasts into his chest, knocking him back. Before Vlad could hit back, he was kicked across the jaw. "You're improving, Daniel. There may be hope for you yet."
Before Danny could respond, he grabbed his head, moaning in pain. Vlad grabbed his leg and threw him onto a ceiling. He tried to stand up but fell to his knees. Vlad smirked, gloating at his defeat. Tucker fired an ecto-shot into his back, spinning him around.
Danny was about to continue the fight despite the pain when he saw a ghost nearby, aiming for Vlad. He flew towards him, punching him in the jaw. The ghost fired an ecto-blast in Danny's direction. He put up a shield, but it ripped through like it was never there at all. He screamed, completely out of control, falling to the ground with a moan. He got up and both got a good look at the ghost.
The ghost had glowing red eyes and a glowing white tunic around him, in addition to a turban on his head. He had a small beard and hands that glowed with energy. In other words, he looked like the stereotype of a terrorist, save for the fact that his body was glowing.
"Nobody does that except me!" Vlad yelled furiously. He duplicated into 4, and all of them fired energy at full power. Everyone who had stopped to watch the fight were nearly blinded by the light. After nearly a minute, Vlad stopped his barrage, confident that the ghost was now nothing but a pile of goo.
Instead, it didn't seem affected in the least. It fired ecto-orbs in return, destroying every duplicate. Vlad barely managed to dodge his second attack. However, Danny had recovered and jumped into the fray, firing ice blasts. "Tucker, Sam, get out of here!" Danny demanded, trying to ignore the throbbing in his head. He fired ecto and ice blasts, the ghost making no attempt to dodge.
As the fight continued, it was clear that both Danny and Vlad were badly outmatched. Tucker dragged Sam out of the line of fire, despite her protests. Vlad dodged another attack, one that completely destroyed the house below him. Danny kicked the ghost in the gut, punching him repeatedly. It simply responded with a punch to the chest, nearly breaking his ribs.
People were fleeing, trampling each other in their haste to get away. Danny tried to get its attention by launching the strongest ecto-blasts he could muster. He wanted to use his ghostly wail, but feared that would cause more damage than there already was. Vlad pushed Danny out the way of an incoming assault.
"Why are you doing this?" Danny demanded. "How could you possibly kill hundreds of innocent people?" The ghost stayed silent, firing a punch. Danny evaded a direct blow, but even though it barely touched his thigh, he screamed in agony.
Furiously, Vlad fired a ghost stinger into his face. The ghost glared, but gave no indication that he even felt it. The billionaire put up a shield, but his was ripped through as easily as Danny's.
When they were in close proximity of one another, the ghost fired his strongest ecto-blast yet, hitting both of them directly. Neither one were able to sustain their ghost forms for long. They weakly floated to the ground, rings already surrounding them. Most people were already gone, so they were in less danger of having their secrets revealed.
He's far more powerful than I imagined. was Vlad's last thought before he fell unconscious.
X X X X X X X X X X
Well, now things are getting interesting. That heated debate at City Hall was basically my admission that this story could be perceived as Islamophobic, although that is obviously not my intention. Hey, I don't want to demonize people that disagree with me, which is why I do my best to be fair to both sides. I'm not perfect, but I am a human being… sort of.
In any case, hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always, please review. I'm glad to see the reception I've gotten so far. Thank you, everyone, and keep it up!